In recent years, the relations between science and religion have been the object of renewed attention. Developments in physics, biology and the neurosciences have reinvigorated discussions about the nature of life and ultimate reality. At the same time, the growth of anti-evolutionary and intelligent design movements has led many to the view that science and religion are necessarily in conflict. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the relations between science and religion, with contributions from historians, philosophers, scientists and theologians. It explores the impact of religion on the origins and development of science, religious reactions to Darwinism, and the link between science and secularization. It also offers in-depth discussions of contemporary issues, with perspectives from cosmology, evolutionary biology, psychology, and bioethics. The volume is rounded out with philosophical reflections on the connections between atheism and science, the nature of scientific and religious knowledge, and divine action and human freedom.

Reviews

‘A welcome addition to the Cambridge series and a valuable contribution on the growing literature on science and religion.’ --Zygon

‘Almost all of the contributions are highly informative and intellectually stimulating.’ --Metascience

‘Peter Harrison is himself a superb scholar, and provides a fine introductory essay after having assembled a lineup of distinguished contributors.’--Christianity Today

‘The essays are fascinating, and each chapter invites further exploration…’ --Isis

‘Peter Harrison has enlisted a first-rate group of scholars to offer a competent introduction to the field in this Cambridge Companion volume…. a rich appetizer to a controversial field, introducing hungry readers to the key players, the central debates and theories, and the historical and conceptual questions surrounding the fascinating encounter between science and religion.’ --Themelios

‘This volume of essays, written by experts in their fields, should become the gold standard on the subject for its comprehensive and cogent treatment.’ --Christopher Benson, First Things.